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In schools, politics rears a sinister ‘comic’ appearance

By Debra Chong

April 13, 2012

A comic depicts a character resembling Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 — Copies of a political comic book extolling the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government have been circulating among teachers in recent weeks ahead of the 13th general elections, purportedly distributed by state education departments. The 50-page booklet in full colour featuring caricatures of figures resembling leading national political figures appear to paint those from the ruling coalition in the best positive light.

A comic depicts a character resembling an opposition leader with his arms around two men.

In contrast, opposition political figures are painted in a downright negative and sometimes sinister manner, such as on page 31 of the booklet, which show a goateed man in glasses dressed in a singlet cuddling two half-naked men that appear to be linked to Najib’s rival, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. The PKR advisor who was accused of sodomising former male aide Mohd Saiful Bukari Azlan was, however, acquitted by the High Court earlier this year after a marathion three-year trial.
“The Education Ministry can call for meetings with us anytime. This time, we were briefed about the government’s achievements in the past few years,” a senior teacher from a national school told The Malaysian Insider.
The teacher, who spoke on condition of anonymity, had attended a recent briefing titled “Wacana Transformasi Minda” held by a state education department for school heads and their senior assistants.
“We were told that its a good government but there was no directive to vote for anyone.
“But each of us got this book, which speaks for itself,” added the senior teacher.
The BN’s mandate to rule expires in the first quarter of next year and speculation has been rife that national polls will be called early as in previous years, sometime in the next few months.
And teachers who form a large population of the civil workforce, are among the most significant target for support for BN.

A comic depicts a character resembling Najib in superhero guise.

Not all schools have received the comic book though. Some senior teachers contacted by The Malaysian Insider claimed ignorance of the matter. The education ministry has yet to respond to The Malaysian Insider’s requests to clarify the allegation.
The comic book is purportedly published by Mj Publication Sdn Bhd, with its address listed at No 12/9, Jalan Jati 2, Persiaran Barat, 68000 Ampang, Selangor.
However, a search in the Yellow Pages business directory failed to turn up the alleged publisher’s contact details. Further checks on Google Maps also seem to show that the address does not exist, casting doubt on the validity of the publisher.
The book also does not carry the printer’s permit licence, which is a requirement of the Home Ministry.The Malaysian Insider managed to obtain a copy of the comic book, which depict a caricature of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak against the national flag and a quartet that appear to represent Malaysia’s diverse ethnic groups with the words, “I wouldn’t break your trust” on the front cover.
Within the pages are a variety of graphic illustrations that praise the BN’s leadership and policies, such as how the Najib administration has helped provide incentives to youths for more jobs under the 1 Malaysia policy.
An illustration on page 38 of the booklet also portrays Najib decked out in superhero kit and flying above a crowd with speech bubbles proclaiming “Hi! Superman”.

A comic depicts a superhero character resembling Najib (left) apprehending another that resembles Anwar (centre) while a crowd cheers him on.

Muhyiddin accuses Dong Zong of ‘big lies’

By Shannon Teoh

April 12, 2012

Muhyiddin maintains that his ministry does not discriminate against schools based on their language medium. — File pic

SHAH ALAM, April 12 — Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin accused Chinese educationists today of telling “big lies” for claiming the government had sidelined Chinese vernacular schools for decades. The deputy prime minister told over 500 vernacular school teachers from Selangor that the government has spent equally on all national schools, regardless of whether the medium of instruction was Malay, Mandarin or Tamil.
“Dong Zong held a big rally where they threw things at my deputy minister. So uncivilised,” he said referring to claims Datuk Wee Ka Siong was assaulted at the March 25 event.
“They said we have ignored their problems for decades. This is a big lie,” he said to the crowd made up of mostly Chinese teachers.
Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, said that all national schools had problems, and not just Chinese schools, before citing a shortage of teachers who were proficient in English.
He also said the government spent an average of RM2.24 million per Chinese school, RM1.99 million per Tamil school and RM2.26 million on national schools teaching in Malay.
“The difference is very small. We have never sidelined schools just because they teach in Mandarin or Tamil,” he said during his hour-long speech on the emotive issue for the Chinese community.
During its March 25 rally, the United Chinese School Committees Association (Dong Zong) accused the government of compromising Chinese education by “deliberately” not training enough Chinese school teachers, resulting in a shortage that has lasted for up to 40 years.
Dong Zong president Yap Sin Tian told a crowd of over 5,000, who had chanted for Wee to resign, this was so the government could send in those without SPM Mandarin qualifications to fill the gap.
Wee, who was chased out and claimed he was assaulted after the rally, responded by saying he was willing to quit as deputy education minister if this could resolve the teacher shortage in Chinese primary schools.
He has also insisted the teacher shortage in Chinese primary schools has declined since he became deputy education minister in 2009.
The MCA Youth chief told Parliament early this month that when he joined the Education Ministry in 2009, there was a shortage of 4,991 teachers in Chinese schools that has been reduced each year to 1,870 this year.

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Quranic Verse For The Day

And by the sun and its brightness. And by the moon as it follows it (the sun). And by the day as it shows up (the suns) brightness. And by the night as it conceals it (the sun). And by the heaven and Him Who built it. And by the earth and Him Who spread it. And by Nafs (Adam or a person or a soul, etc.), and Him Who perfected him in proportion.Then He showed him what is wrong for him and what is right for him. Indeed he succeeds who purifies his ownself (i.e. obeys and performs all that Allah ordered, by following the true Faith of Islamic Monotheism and by doing righteous good deeds). And indeed he fails who corrupts his ownself (i.e. disobeys what Allah has ordered by rejecting the true Faith of Islamic Monotheism or by following polytheism, etc. or by doing every kind of evil wicked deeds).( Demi matahari dan sinarnya di pagi hari. Demi bulan apabila ia mengiringi. Demi siang apabila ia menampakkan diri. Demi malam apabila ia menutupi. Demi langit dan seluruh binaannya. Demi bumi dan yang ada di hamparannya. Demi jiwa dan penyempurnaannya. Allah mengilhamkan sukma keburukan (kefasikan) dan kebaikan (ketaqwaan). Beruntunglah siapa yang mensucikannya dan rugilah siapa yang mengotorinya. ).(Asysams, Chapter 91 , Verse 1-10)